Musings on a Life in the Theatre, Tablet PC's, Cultural Issues, (oh, and the occasional emu sighting...)

154 posts categorized "Web/Tech"

December 03, 2012

Here we go. It's Ink Blot Awards time. A time for fun, and time for some introspection, a time for passing time, and a time for looking back. I've been blogging both here and at GottaBeMobile.com for over eight years now. I began this little annual tradition on the first annivesary of this blog as a way of celebrating a community that no longer exists today. That community was a group of geeks devoted to the early Tablet PCs. Things have changed quite a bit since, but here's what I wrote on that first anniversary as some context.

I created The Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards
as a celebration. Yes, it's a celebration of the 1 year anniversary of
this blog. But it is more than that. It is a celebration of a community
that I have come to know and admire. The Tableteers that make up the
Tablet PC Community are an amazing collection of individuals who know
and work with the Tablet PC platform. They are fiercely protective of
it, insatiably curious about advancing it, very intelligent, often
wickedly funny, at one time very forgiving and patient, and in the same
breath, scathingly critical when the need arises. They are also
exceedingly willing to evangelize the platform to anyone who will
listen, and in my humble opinion, have helped keep the spotlight on The
Tablet PC in ways that may, in the long run, prove to be responsible
for keeping the platform thriving.

Like I said, many things have changed since then. The Ink Blot Awards continue to evolve, without or without any hint of intelligent design. Those early Tablet PCs might as well be made of stone given how the technology has advanced. The media that covers Tablets (and other things as well) proves over and over again that the exciting technology we have at our current disposal doesn't mean that the stone age thinking of how we cover things goes away with new technology.

What hasn't changed and what's consistent about Tablets and mobile tech is that they offer a very personal experience. Apple gets this. Microsoft and others are trying to, but they insist on making devices while Apple creates experiences.

My attitude about politics, cultural
happenings, and other things are also changing. I've also
changed how I observe and remark about them. The convenience of Twitter, App.net, Google+ and Facebook take something away from this blog. I used to worry about that. I don't any longer.

I used to find most of what revolves around us as we make our way through this crazy life as entertaining
in a "Human Comedy" sort of way. That has stopped, largely. What used to entertain more frequently just fills me with disdain. I guess that's mostly because those that pull the levers seem to view us all with disdain and they are becoming more transparent about it. I suppose I'm losing my tolerance, but perhaps that's because these days you can't talk about things in a nuanced manner. Whether the subject be politics or the latest gadget, you're either with us or against us, whoever the us is. Why remain tolerant with intolerance? Hating is the in thing these days, though for whatever reason I can't quite figure out. The ins and outs of life begin with the foibles of humans. We can create beauty and magic. We can also screw up just about anything we touch given half a chance. It
used to be we acknowledged that,
celebrated it, and moved on, bettering ourselves in the process. We might still do some of that, but far too often I increasingly feel like we're playing a sucker's game. Granted the game is being rigged by other suckers who just don't realize that's what they are. Rats in a maze can only repeat their paths so often before they pass out and die or get too fat from finding the reward. I often wonder why we get so many chances to make the same mistakes over and over. Maybe we're just too small to see the maze.

All pretense aside, the rules for inclusion on this little list are the same as they have always been. Award winners are subject to my own whims and
fancies. Some are best in class, some are just frivilous, some deserve
the small heaping of scorn these awards might cast their way. Human
nature, no matter the field of endeavor, is ripe with that which needs
celebrating, and that which needs derision cast its way. Good friend and Tableteer, Mark “Sumocat” Sumimoto,
christened these awards with the nickname of ‘The Blotties’ in year
one, and that sorta stuck. So we'll let it keep sticking. And finally,
if you don't like the list, go make your own.

December 04, 2011

Like everything else in my life in this insane year this post is a day late and a dollar short. The seventh anniversary of this blog was yesterday, December 3. But things in my life kept me from putting the finishing touches on the post and getting it published on the big day. On some level that's unacceptable. On others it is entirely in character this year. But then, maybe we'll see that change in the new year.

Seven years. (and a day) That's how long I've been presenting the Ink Blot Awards as my way of recognizing the anniversary of this blog. It's been a fun ride. It's been full of laughs. I'm hoping this year's awards will also provide a few chuckles to folks who stop by and give them a read. Although the history is mostly ancient and perhaps bordering on the irrelevant, I think it is important to provide some of it as context. So here goes:

I created The Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards as a celebration. Yes, it's a celebration of the 1 year anniversary of this blog. But it is more than that. It is a celebration of a community that I have come to know and admire. The Tableteers that make up the Tablet PC Community are an amazing collection of individuals who know and work with the Tablet PC platform. They are fiercely protective of it, insatiably curious about advancing it, very intelligent, often wickedly funny, at one time very forgiving and patient, and in the same breath, scathingly critical when the need arises. They are also exceedingly willing to evangelize the platform to anyone who will listen, and in my humble opinion, have helped keep the spotlight on The Tablet PC in ways that may, in the long run, prove to be responsible for keeping the platform thriving.

So much has changed in the time I started blogging that first year. It's changed with me and also that community has certainly changed. Those around me have changed as well in an eerie parallel to how things with Tablets have changed. Tablets mean different things now-a-days, although some of those who make them seem to have less penchant for success than Microsoft did.

What hasn't changed and what's consistent about Tablets is that they are still the very personal devices that they started out to be. Microsoft never recognized that. Apple did. Others tried to emulate without acknowledging the core reasons for Apple's success. And by and large they failed.

What's also changed is my attitude about politics, cultural happenings, and other things that I observe on this blog. I've also changed how I observe and remark about them. The convenience of Twitter and Google+ take something away from this blog. Sometimes I worry about that. Sometimes I don't.

I've become increasingly disenchanted with quite a few things this year. To be honest, I don't know why. I used to find it all entertaining in a "Human Comedy" sort of way. I don't find it that entertaining anymore. The ins and outs of life begin with the foibles of humans. It used to be that somewhere along the line we acknowledged that, celebrated it, and moved on, bettering ourselves in the process. While I think we still acknowledge it, and we might celebrate it, the only benefit we're deriving by moving on is to repeat the same things over and over again with an increasing frequency. I think this year's Ink Blot Awards reflect that with the number of repeats. Or they reflect my warped sense of things.

This was a year that so many things resulted in a "FAIL" that I think we have to look for a new buzz word for failure. Politics and the circus around it started performing without a tent and nobody cared that the clowns weren't funny any more. It's not that the clowns weren't funny that is maddening. It's depressing that no one cared anymore. Major tech companies became exposed for what can only be described as abhorent stratagies. New gadgets now depend on the same fickle first weekend sales that movies do. Of course if we had better gadgets being released, we'd probably see better results. Social networking became a parody of itself and all of that sharing resulted in a few shares too many or not nearly enough, depending on your perspective. Big media continued to prove that it doesn't have a clue. Little media seems to inexplicably want to follow that path as well. Oh, and Mother Nature reached up and smacked the planet around trying to get our attention. But aside from watching the compelling video and pictures we continued to just be thankful it wasn't us feeling her wrath, and sympathetic to those who did. The 99% became the Tea Party without the tea but with lots of party, because in the end the complaints are the same. For its efforts it got criticized by the 1% for being unorganized, dirty, and partying too much by the 1% that defines itself by making money and not making anything else so it can party. I think the 1% are just jealous because they feel like they have to dress up and shower in order to play their game. There's an old saying in show biz that if you put real life on the stage no one would believe it. I think if you put this last year on the stage, not only wouldn't anyone believe it, but Groupon would have a hard time selling discount tickets to it.

Last year's many repeats were due primarily to me spending the year dealing with my mother's terminal illness and ultimate passing. This year's repeats, I think, deal more with the fact that nothing has really changed. Change used to be a constant. I don't think it is as constant presently. On some levels I find that depressing, on larger levels I find that extremely human. I also find that it focuses those who are looking at life with 20/20 vision into a clearer view that someday may pull us out of the rut we're in.

Any pretense at aspirations aside, the rules for inclusion on the list are the same. Award winners are subject to my own whims and fancies. Some are best in class, some are just frivilous, some deserve the small heaping of scorn these awards might cast their way. Human nature, no matter the field of endeavor, is ripe with that which needs celebrating and that which needs derision cast its way. Good friend, Tablet PC MVP and fellow GBM contributor, Mark “Sumocat” Sumimoto, christened these awards with the nickname of ‘The Blotties’ in year one, and that sorta stuck. So we'll let it keep sticking. And finally, if you don't like the list, go make your own.

So, as always, hit the jump, cue the dancing girls, beat out a tattoo on the drums, sound the trumpets (or the theremin) and get ready for the Seventh Annual Life on the Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards .

July 11, 2011

Google+ is all the rage. Twitter is still rolling along. (Although Tweetdeck is just a steaming pile of Fail Whale since Twitter bought it.) Facebook is still booking faces. And of course the thing that drives them all (or supposedly will) is advertising.

Each of the social networks has a "Like" button or a +1, or a retweet, or something for others to follow along. But you know what these services and websites, and blogs, and headlines really need? A Stupid button, or some form of a Total Rejection Button. I know folks have talked about "disklike" buttons before, but when it comes to Ads and how that scam actually works on websites and social services, etc... I think we need to start measuring just how stupid some of these things are.

Shock and outrage! Tea Party activists are angry at the Republicans. If they are surprised at what happened in the lame duck session, I can't wait to see the surprise on their face when they read the Constitution out loud at the opening of the new session of Congress.

The IRS says that Congress waited too late to pass the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts and consequently taxpayers who file with some itemized deductions will have to wait to file because the iRS isn't ready to process the claims.

Frank Rich tries to pin a label on the No Label movement. That movement started in an attempt to turn Washington away from the knife fights that currently exist. Rich is correct in that No Labels will not succeed in the end, but he shows that he's just as much a beneficiary of the current farce as everyone else who sucks on the public tit is.

MG Seigler says Yahoo killed consumer confidence in themselves and other Cloud services. Nothing is permanent in the Cloud as the name we've all attached to it so metaphorically suggests. And if Yahoo still has enough clout or leadership or respect or whatever to have that kind of effect, the Cloud is dissolving into mist anyway.

Gay men and women in the military can now be asked and are free to tell. That's a good thing because at least on the surface the military no longer undercuts its culture of responsibility by forcing its members to lie. But immigrants who fight for this country can't become citizens. Our cultural homophobia probably didn't go away, but it can now at least dance with our entrenched xenophobia out in the open. And we call this a great country?

We can't get a budget or anything else done in Congress, but atleast they can come together to pass the CALM Act. That keeps advertisers from boosting the volume on obnoxious commercials higher than the TV shows they run on. Did we really need an act of Congress for this?

December 03, 2010

Here we go again with another edition of the Life on the Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards. Six years of this fun is quite a bit, but hey, it's still fun. As I’ve said each year since year two of these awards there is no better description as to why they exist, or why I created them, than what I said the first year. So, here's a bit of history.

I created The Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards as a celebration. Yes, it's a celebration of the 1 year anniversary of this blog. But it is more than that. It is a celebration of a community that I have come to know and admire. The Tableteers that make up the Tablet PC Community are an amazing collection of individuals who know and work with the Tablet PC platform. They are fiercely protective of it, insatiably curious about advancing it, very intelligent, often wickedly funny, at one time very forgiving and patient, and in the same breath, scathingly critical when the need arises. They are also exceedingly willing to evangelize the platform to anyone who will listen, and in my humble opinion, have helped keep the spotlight on The Tablet PC in ways that may, in the long run, prove to be responsible for keeping the platform thriving.

Tablet PCs as we’ve known them from the past are basically a dinosaur, thanks largely to Microsoft. The community that loved them has headed off into different directions mostly searching for a mobile Holy Grail. Some think the iPad is that device. Some have hope for Android and what it might be. But we all step over the graves of things like UMPCs, MIDs, and maybe soon Netbooks, while we're looking for that magical mobile whatever. Such are the times, such are the trials, and such are the tales of those who loved Tablets. The majority of mobile gadget entries, including Tablets and slates still look more like odd independent films trying to find distribution. Meanwhile Apple has changed the calendar and the culture in its favor and looks to dominate for some time to come. Apple sucked the oxygen away from anyone who thought they had a chance in this year that was supposed to be "The Year of the Tablet." Turns out it was the year of Apple.

The wacky world of the web continues to be wacky. Facebook is growing so rapidly that soon it looks like it might be the web. Google throws things at the web like a bad chef tossing spaghetti at a wall to see if it is done. Microsoft is trying to make a comeback against long odds and we're all still tweeting, locating, searching, and surfing to what end who knows.

What we call politics these days continued to demean the term, if that's possible. We've finally crossed the Rubicon where the winners are the best liars regardless of the game. Lying, cheating, and stealing are celebrated when it brings victory in ways that should make any mother's toes curl. No where is this more apparent than this week's debate over Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a law that forces the military culture, one that is built on integrity, to lie in order to get by. If that isn't warped I don't know what is and if you call it compromise, then I think we all better start forgetting compromise as a concept pretty soon. The Wikileaks circus, however, proves that if you try to point out the lies you can still get your butt in trouble, even if the lies you are revealing aren't that big a deal anyway. But as I said the lying isn't just relegated to what used to be called the "art of the possible." It's now pervasive in all segments of society. I'm assuming that shortly we'll dispense with courses in ethics and replace them with courses in how to lie.

So this year's awards will cover a wide range of topics but I'll caveat that by saying that there are a lot of repeats. Part of that is due to my being preoccupied with my Mother's terminal illness and her passing. Part of that is due to the fact that there weren't a lot of new folks jumping up and demanding my attention.

The rules for nomination and inclusion (some dubious, some for actual best in class, some just for frivolity) are my own and completely subject to my own whims and fancies. Human nature, no matter the field of endeavor, is ripe with that which needs celebrating and that which needs derision cast its way. That last bit seems even more pertinent this year. Good friend, Tablet PC MVP and fellow GBM contributor, Mark “Sumocat” Sumimoto, christened these awards with the nickname of ‘The Blotties’ in year one, and that sorta stuck. So we'll let it keep sticking. If you don't like the list, go make your own.

I used to lament that I couldn't afford some sort of bash where those honored could get blotto while celebrating. I don't lament that anymore as many of the folks on the list seem to do well enough at that on their own. But if our paths happen to cross, I'll buy you one, if you do the same in return.

So, as always, cue the dancing girls, beat out a tattoo on the drums, sound the trumpets (or the theremin) and get ready for the Sixth Annual Life on the Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards . Enjoy!

November 21, 2010

Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch might be working on a Tablet/Slate newspaper delivery mechanism. According to reports this will cost $.99 a week. Well, since Tablet/Slates haven't saved print media from themselves yet, I've got no problem with new initiatives. I do have a problem with the quote that this is intended to combine "a tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence." I think you have to have the intelligence part first before you can combine it with anything.

Carol Mosley Braun's entry into the Chicago mayoral race proves once again that there is far too much room for those who failed miserably, perhaps have gotten in trouble legally or ethically, and should disappear from the stage still have a culture that lets them to continue their efforts to rise to the top. Or it just proves how forgetful some are about their own foibles. Why do I feel like those running for office fall into the same category of intelligence as those hired by the TSA? What a country!

Speaking of the TSA, the TSA privacy/security debate continues with what now seems like a story of abuse appearing each and every day. If Nightline still mattered we'd have a different story every night. Watch for the media to drop this story like a hot potato about the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Security theatre is at least running the gamut of emotions. Unfortunately, all it is leading to is more skepticism and distrust and no security. Oh, and a bad rap for the concept of theatre.

Steve Gillmor uses the Beatles/iTunes launch as a catapult to wax (sometimes poetically) about where it is all going when Adobe (and others) find themselves on the ash heap of history. Only Steve.

Robert Scoble wonders if we still need the tech press in the context of how some App developers are succeeding without the usual PR/Hype circus. Um, Robert, if by tech press you mean the mass media, we haven't needed them for quite some time. I think you're proof of that.